Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will not 'diversify into unrelated sectors' by launching app-based cab service by the end of this year, a company spokesperson confirmed on Saturday. It comes over unconfirmed reports that Reliance Jio had ordered around 600 cars to launch a taxi service.
On Saturday, a Reliance spokesperson tweeted that the reports are "WRONG and DENIED." The company has no plans to get into unrelated diversification, the official added.
The speculations had gained momentum after Reliance Jio announced a strategic partnership with Uber to allow users to pay for their rides through Jio's prepaid wallet.
"The plan is to launch after April, but it might take up to six months more depending how the commercial rollout pans out," FactorDaily had reported citing a source at Reliance Industries. The reports had also claimed that Reliance Jio had reached out to Mahindra and Hyundai, and was looking to build its own fleet of cabs.
Exclusive: Reliance Jio Cabs to take on Ola and Uber. Full story here: https://t.co/y3HYSPtYs0 pic.twitter.com/Ix9C1KwELc
— FactorDaily (@factordaily) February 24, 2017
We updated this story with a company spokesperson's denial. We stand by our reporting though.
— FactorDaily (@factordaily) February 25, 2017
Reliance Jio had commercially launched its services on September 5, 2016. Within the first month of commercial operations, Jio announced that it had acquired 16 million subscribers. This was the fastest ramp-up by any mobile network operator anywhere in the world. Jio crossed 50 million subscriber mark in 83 days since its launch, and crossed 100 million subscribers on February 22.
